It’s time to sharpen up your weapons and gear, dust off that Palico gear, and get ready to go on the hunt once more. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is here, and the new quarry awaits, bringing with it the new challenge of Master Rank hunts.
If you’re like me and you’re waiting for the PC release of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, you still have some time to prepare though. In the meantime, why not check out our prepatory guide for the expansion, which laid out all the things you PC gamers, and those console games who want to go in as prepped as possible, to tick off.
But if you’re on console and want to jump straight into the Hoarfrost Reach and start hunting the new beasties, it’s relatively simple. Of course, there’s a couple of things you have to do to unlock the Iceborne quest first regardless of how you plan to get ready.
In order to start the Monster Hunter World: Iceborne expansion, players must first meet two criteria:
- They must have the Monster Hunter World: Iceborne expansion installed.
- They must be Hunter Rank 16 (HR 16). To reach HR 16, players must complete the main story of Monster Hunter World and take down Xeno’Jiiva.
And of course, you have to download the new patch, weighing in at around 30GB depending on your platform of choice. If you want to know more about what you’re getting into, check out the patch notes for the expansion. Once you’ve done all that it’s time to start your journey into Master Rank. But be warned, the new monsters won’t be easy even for expert hunters. Of course there’s larger flagship monsters like Nargacuga and even Velkhana, the new Elder Dragon boss for this content. Zinogre has also been confirmed for Monster Hunter World: Iceborne.
Once players have met both of these criteria, they will receive a Monster Hunter World: Iceborne tutorial that indicates that “a major new expedition is about to begin.” Find the ‘Feisty Fiver’ NPC and talk to them, this will trigger a new cutscene that transitions to the new Hoarfrost Reach, complete with the completely redone hub for MR.
The player will be sent on an exploratory mission across multiple regions in MHW, starting with the Handler in the Ancient Forest. Simply follow the directions and locate the new tracks to unlock another series of cutscenes and move the story forward. Completing this quest string will transport you to the new hub of Selina. A new area Capcom designed with player feedback in mind. It’s much more condensed, and has all the features you came to rely on in Astera. But there’s also some new elements like fully customizable player housing.
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne releases tomorrow on September 6 for PS4 and Xbox One.
